It made me smile, if no one else. Very witty.



As long as you're not smiling come Friday night ...

Purely on ability and future potential I prefer Batchelor.

However,
for this game, where attitude, resilience and a bit of grunt will win the day, I think Annakin will give us more off the bench.
If Ashurst and Kirmond suddenly get injured and we need a second row for a number of games, I'd pick Batch.

Completely understand Poptart, Annakin does have that "bad boy" look doesn't he and comes with a very aggressive running style.

On the back of this comment I would just like to let people of RLfans.com know that I have started a weight loss journey, most recently I divulged and gave users a quick overview on me and my physical appearance. I will be trying to turn 24 stone into 23, 22, 21 and so on. My goal weight is 17 stone by the end of the year, I hope you will all be supporting me in doing so and hope to see you all at the game.

The main reason for me posting this is to ask that people stop it with the "tanker the wan..." nickname at the game as this has really been putting me down.

Wow - who expected that rapid change of direction...?

Ey up Bren hope all is well mate

Reading it back I did waffle on a little bit

Now back to the thread!

I do think if the lads show up with the right mindset, we can take the 2 points. I know the conditions were terrible last time we played Cas but none the less, we were right in there with a chance right up until the end and if a few calls go our way this time and we play the game like I know we can then it's more than winnable!

Good luck with the weight loss. Making the decision to do so is the first step.

Thanks mate

Going back a couple of weeks there was a lot of talk about the depth in our squad... it now feels very different for me. Do you think we need to recruit another halfback? With Finny's departure looking more and more likely for me it will leave us with Rocky and Miller, I appreciate we could probably throw Wood or Jowitt in but do we need another established scrum half?

I wouldn't be surprised if CC is looking out for a decent half but they're as rare as rocking horse droppings.

We were a bit unlucky against Cas at home, hopefully we can get at them at their place. I think we are all looking for a positive performance after the Salford disappointment.

Thanks Slugger, I do try and keep it light on here with it being an "away" forum.

As regards smiling if its been a good game and we've lost and the refs been consistent I really won't be too bothered if we lose. When you've been playing, coaching, and watching for 65 years you learn to roll with it and enjoy every minute win or lose. The greatest game

Of course we would all love to have the best team in the league. We haven't. What we do have is a great bunch of guys who are pretty handy players. We have a fabulous Chairman. We have great fans at the games (a few negative idiots on here but hey ho). We have a lot to build on. We have a positive style of play. I enjoy supporting us. We have had a tough run and the second half of the season is easier than the first. I still see us having a decent season overall. There isn't much different this year to last in results and performances when you look game to game against the same opposition. There is a lot to come yet and we are a respected team. Lets enjoy it eh?!

This (apart from the Chairman bit)

Good luck with the weight loss Trinity 18. I did it in 2016 and shed over 2 stone, dropping to just under 13st. I did it through making slight diet changes, and sticking to them, such as cutting down on such like as bread, pastry and alcohol. Also exercising is also key. A hard thing to do is keep it off once it goes. To some extent, I have managed that too.

As for Finny, Chessie may well be looking to replace him, but to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if he was retained for a further year, though maybe as back up and also to help develop the games of our younger halves, such as Rocky, Avkyoyd and Schofield

There is nothing wrong with our Chairman, Daddycool

Waif!

Spot on Charlie. I'm still enjoying the season and I think we have a lot of good rugby ahead of us.

Finn.....He isn't done yet. He has broken a finger and isn't in top form but that doesn't mean he is done. We should look ahead but we don't have to panic buy yet.

And Trinity18......... good for you. Your life will change with your weight loss journey. Keep up to it. I lost 3 stone doing Slimming World. You'll feel better. Your heart will thank you and you'll suddenly find there is a life there for you that you've had to avoid because of your weight.
If you ever feel like falling off the wagon....just keep your eye on the goal. Slips happen. Just get back on it. Don't let anyone else take it away from you.

I didn't actually mean for this thread to stray away but I am blown away by the support.

Thank you all for you kind words, I'll be sure to provide updates when necessary.

Here it is, the 19 man squad to play Cas:

Chris Annakin
Tinirau Arona
Joe Arundel
Matty Ashurst
Jordan Baldwinson
James Batchelor
Anthony England
Ryan Hampshire
Keegan Hirst
Craig Huby
Tom Johnstone
Ben Jones-Bishop
Max Jowitt
Reece Lyne
Jacob Miller
Pauli Pauli
Tyler Randell
Bill Tupou
Kyle Wood

Grix and Finn are out and in come Jowitt and Hampshire plus Pauli and Annakin .

This could be huge for Hampshire and if he can show Cas what they are missing then, maybe, just maybe we have a chance ?

That squad really gives a bigger buzz to the game. As always, I love this fixture.



Pity no Fifita though.

So then how does the 17 shape up?

1. Jowitt
2. Johnstone
3. Bully Tupou
4. Lyne
5. Jones-Bishop
6. Milky
7. Rocky
8. England
9. Randell
10. Huby
11. Ashurst
12. Batchelor
13. Arona

Bench:

Chris Annakin
Keegan Hirst
Pauli Pauli
Kyle Wood

So Baldwinson and Arundel miss out for me... although I like Arundel's defence Lyne is in fine form.

This is interesting and I approve. Thought Rocky was great vs Leeds. Looking forward to the game on Friday. I don't think we will win but as someone said earlier, we play exciting rugby - and with Hampshire and Jowitt in the spine - we've got a youthful side with plenty of attacking flair. Hopefully it is a dry track as well.

Also, happy for Pauli Pauli to come back in. Hopefully he has been working hard in training and he's a little bit fitter and chomping at the bit to prove the doubters wrong. There is definitely great potential there if he has the correct mentality.

I bet CC's mind is now at rest knowing he has your approval

I hope it does put his mind a little at rest. He must have been having a few sleepless nights after last Friday

Fifita will play